


Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off.

by NicoleIsabella



Category: Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012), The Avengers - All Fandoms
Genre: M/M, Plot What Plot, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-26
Updated: 2012-07-29
Packaged: 2017-11-10 19:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/469821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicoleIsabella/pseuds/NicoleIsabella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Tony got off on the wrong foot, but are willing to start over. Tony has some daddy issues and Steves started to feel something he's uncomfortable with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Apologies

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work in any fandom and i'm trying my best. Constructive criticism is always welcome and i really hope you enjoy this. Oh, and i have absolutely no clue where this story is going or when it will be done. Its just kinda happening.(:

“Stark I believe I owe an apology” Tony turned as he heard the deep rough voice that could only belong to Captain America, he’d recognize it anywhere.

  


“And what would that be for, cap?” He was caught a bit off guard people didn’t really apologize to Tony, mostly because he deserved everything that was thrown his way. There was a way to Tony; it was almost like a super power. He knew just how to rub people, what buttons to push, and how far he needed to go to just cross the line. It was a super power he couldn’t quite control, maybe not a super power at all. It was a curse.

  


Steve took a deep breath; there was a certain look in his eyes that Tony read as a sign that what Steve was about to do was going to take a lot out of him. It was the same look a Teacher might get, when admitting they spelt a word incorrectly, to a student who had rudely called them out on it. Or the look in a waiters eyes when having to apologize, after being yelled at, for serving the wrong dish to some ass hole during the dinner rush. It was the look of admitting you were wrong to someone who didn’t deserve to be right. It was a look Tony knew all too well, growing up as a genius with some severe attitude problems.

  


“I wanted to apologize about earlier,” Steve began; he made eye contact with tony, head held high up, even when apologizing the man radiated pride. “It was wrong of me to accuse you of being self centered and egotistical’” Tony flinched. He would have laughed if the look Steve gave him wasn’t so damn serious.

  


Tony smiled slightly; he wasn’t sure how to respond. He had never been put in this situation before. Hadn’t someone told Steve that Tony wasn’t worth anyone’s apologies? Frankly because he didn’t give a shit what anyone thought about him, or at least wouldn’t let anyone think he did. Hadn’t Fury informed Steve during one of his Avengers briefings that anything you said about Tony was probably right, that there should never be a need for an apology? 

  


Apparently not.

  


“Today you have proven that you’re more than a man in an iron suit” Steve continued. 

  


“Uh- Thanks cap, if you really mean it.” Tony was Baffled. Someone was apologizing for calling him self-centered? That was like apologizing for calling a moose a mammal. Tony was self-centered, it was who he was. It was the only way he knew how to be. He had been self-centered all his life, because he had to. Because if he wasn’t concerned for his self, who would be? Certainly not his father. Tony had strived to be self-centered, why was Steve _apologizing_ for it? 

  


Now Steve looked down. 

  


“I do, you’re uh-a good man Tony, a little rough around the edges, but…good. I see that now.” Steve smiled at him hesitantly. 

  


Tony stared. “Oh man, I think you got knocked around a bit too much there cap. You dizzy? God, I’ll call the ambulance, you need to lie down? My place is right around th-“ 

  


He was cut off by Steve. 

  


“Come on, give yourself a little credit, may I remind you that you saved Manhattan today.”

  


“Oh no, May I remind you, good Captain, that Stark Towers is in Manhattan, stop trying to see good in me, it’s freaking me out.” 

  


Steve chuckled and gave tony a look that said he could see that tony might have _actually_ be concerned with the well being of the civilians and not just his tower. Tony found himself smiling. Steve reached out his hand towards Tony. Tony looked down at it for a second before realizing that he was supposed to shake it. He was supposed to _shake hands_ with _Captain America_. Maybe he had been the one who had been knocked around too much. He grabbed Steve’s hand and shook. 

  


“Keep in touch” Steve said before turning, hopping on his motorcycle and driving off. Tony tried again not to stare. This had been a weird day.


	2. That little voice inside my head.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony thinks too much.

Earlier: When he had seen Captain America standing not 2 feet away, in the flesh, he had almost fainted. It wasn’t everyday that you saw your childhood hero manifested right in front of you. All his life Tony had grown up with Captain America, he wasn’t sure if it had been for his father’s influence, or his own increasing obsession, but Tony had dreamed of this moment all his life. He had dreamed for the moment when he could reach out and actually touch this man. And now he was in the position where that could actually happen, but somehow within the last five minutes he had managed to fuck that up too. A life time of waiting for this moment and it was all screwed up thanks to him.

He couldn’t be surprised, it always happened didn’t it? Someone he desperately wanted to be around always ended up realizing sooner or later that they didn’t want to be around him. This time he guessed he had just hoped it wouldn’t have happened so fast. All he was asking for was a day or two to get to know his lifetime hero before the captain realized what a fuck up he was. But not 10 minutes after meeting Steve he was already staring down at Tony like he was an enemy. Something inside Tony broke at the way Steve looked at him. Maybe he had thought that if anyone would have been able to put up with him it would have been Captain America. After all he had put up with his father. And hadn’t that serum enhanced his personality traits such as understanding and patience? It just goes to show how damn fucked up Tony was. But it only validated what tony already knew. No one in their right mind would be able to put up with him, ever. 

But no way in hell was he going to let these emotions show on his face. So he just shrugged and came up with a witty answer like usual. Later on he’d go back to his mansion and lock himself away in his lab for days on end. Just like he always does, because as it is, Tony is a creature of habit isn’t he? 

 

Tony didn’t know what to think on his way home. It was the first time someone had apologized to him. It didn’t quite make sense in his head. He knew what he did to people, he wasn’t proud of it, but he acknowledged it. So why had Steve taken back what he had said. Why had he gone as far as to call Tony a good man? To ask him to keep in touch? Captain America was too perfect to want to be bothered by someone one like Tony. But maybe that was just it. In all his perfection Steve couldn’t bear to throw someone aside could he? That wouldn’t be very heroly. Maybe Steve was just trying to maintain his do gooder image, and this time apologizing to Tony was the good deed. Fuck that.

 

Tony Made his way through the mansion with just one thing in mind. Alcohol. After grabbing a couple of random bottles out of the liquor cabinet he made his way towards the lab.  
“Good evening, Anthony.” The soft voice came out from a speaker above him in the elevator. It was his AI Jarvis. Tony had modeled him after the butler he had grown up with. There was a sense of home with Jarvis. If it wasn’t strange to say, he really loved the AI.  
“Heya Jarvis, look I’m gonna be in my lab for a while, and I don’t want any interruptions, so hold all calls and the only person with clearance to lab is Pepper, but that’s only for emergencies. Got it?”  
“Yes, sir.” The AI responded.  
“Night Jarvis.”  
“Good night, Anthony.”  
Tony swore he could hear worry in the AI’s voice, but that’s just ridiculous isn’t it?


	3. lonely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steves alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really short. like super...its just a look into Steve's life, and there is not much going on there.

Steve stepped into his one bedroom apartment and switched on the light. The room was bare asides from an old chair and a dusty coffee table. He sat down, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about Tony. About the look on his face when he had told him he was nothing without his suit. A deep pain had flashed through his eyes and he looked like he had been slapped. It all had happened so fast that if Steve didn’t have such a keen sense of reading people’s emotions, such a sharp eye that had developed after the serum, he might not have caught it. But he did and now the guilt cut through his stomach like a knife. 

Steve had been angry with Tony for acting so arrogant, but in that moment Tony seemed vulnerable and sad. A man who had been through a lot. Steve felt for him and maybe what Tony needed was a friend. Steve himself was lonely in this new world. He decided he would call Tony in the morning.


	4. calls from the unexpected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo Pepper!(:

Pepper crept into Tony’s lab. It hadn’t taken much to convince Jarvis that 3 days spent in the lab without food or water was an emergency. She felt that Jarvis was just as concerned about Tony as she was, in his own robotic way

She stepped in quietly, not that it mattered. Tony was so consumed with his work that he wouldn’t have noticed her if she had yelled. Pepper set a cup of coffee on his work table and tapped his shoulder. He jumped.

“Jesus Pepper! Couldn’t you have knocked, scared the fuck out of me.” Tony dropped his goggles off his face and let them dangle around his neck. He looked jaded. Hallow cheeks and dark eyes, it was evident he hadn’t slept or ate for a couple of days. Sometimes Pepper wondered how someone could live this way, wouldn’t your body have given up by now? 

“Yes well, you’re scaring me pretty good you’re self Mr. Stark, you’ve been down here for awhile. Here I brought you some coffee.” Pepper pushed the mug closer to Tony.  
“I told Jarvis only emergencies, damn backstabber.” Tony murmured before he picked up the mug and brought it to his lips. 

“Well Mr. Stark I find it very unprofessional to trap you’re self inside a dark room for several days without bathing. Being you’re assistant, I found it an emergency to remind you that it might be a good idea to emerge from this cave and take care of your hygienic needs?” Peppers smile was tight.

Tony chuckled. “Mmm, you make a very persuasive point there Ms. Potts. Tell you what, as soon as I’m done here I’ll head on up and ‘take care of my hygienic needs’” Tony said as he turned back to his work. There was a moment of silence.

“Tony please...” Pepper voice was pleading.

The tone in her voice made something inside Tony flip. It had been almost two months since they had split but Tony knew that he would never stop loving Pepper, and he also knew that somehow Pepper wouldn’t stop loving him. It was odd how he had found someone who could actually stand him, maybe the only person in the world who could, but still he couldn’t make things work with her. It hurt, but he’d have to deal with it. 

He sighed. “Alright, let me at least finish my coffee.” 

Pepper smiled weakly. Tony gulped down the rest of his drink and proceeded to wrap his arms around Pepper. 

“I love you pep, you know that? And I’m really not trying to hurt you, I just…lose track of time when I’m down here.” 

“I know Tony.” Pepper whispered, but her voice was still sad.

On their way upstairs Tony caught a glimpse of his reflection on one of his glass walls. Man he really could use a shower. 

“…Twice. He left a call back number. Bruce also called.” Pepper finished her sentence and looked at Tony. 

“Wait what was that pep? I didn’t catch what you just said. Was a little too busy staring at my devilishly handsome reflection.”  
Tony joked. Pepper rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. 

“I said, Steve Rogers called twice, he left a call back number. And so did Bruce.”

Tony's Smile fell. Steve had called? If his previous theory about Steve had been right then he shouldn’t be calling. His good deed didn't extend as far as actually taking on the task of having to spend more time with Tony than required. But maybe just this one time his theory had been wrong. He hoped to god it was. There was only one way to find out. 

“Jarvis, can you connect a call to Steve Rogers in my room.”

“Certainly Sir.” Replied the AI

Tony made his way to his room. “Thanks for getting me out pep, oh and the coffee” He called back. 

As soon as he was out of sight he broke into a jog.


	5. Trade mistakes

Steve stepped out of the shower just as his phone went off. He jumped back a bit, still frightened by the new technology, and then reached out for it. The flip phones small screen display showed ‘Tony Stark’.

 

“Steve Rogers.” He answered. Was it just him or was there heavy breathing on the other end?

 

“Heya Cap,” Tony answered. “I heard you called so I was just calling to see if the world was ending or something.”

 

“Ending? You think I would just ring you up if people were in danger Tony? Why wouldn’t I assemble the Avengers? Why would you think that, it’s absurd.”

 

“Whoa, take it easy there big guy, it’s just a joke.” Tony replied in an amused tone. “I meant that I didn’t think I’d be hearing from you unless something out of the ordinary was happening. Ya know?”

 

So Tony was joking about thousands of people dying? How was that funny? He didn’t quite get how this genius thought sometimes, but he let it go.

 

“Sure. But no nothing ‘out of the ordinary’ is happening.” Steve replied.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

“So why’d you call, Cap?” Tony asked after a moment.

 

Another pause.

 

Why’d he call? Well, because he wanted to say hello obviously. People still do that right? He wasn’t quite sure. He’s read about something called ‘texting’ in his phone contract but he wasn’t quite comfortable enough with this new technology to try it out yet. So he had called.

 

“I, uh, called to say hello.” He finally answered.

 

“Hello? That’s it?” Tony replied.

 

“Yes, I said I’d keep in touch. Remember?”

 

“Well yea, sure, but people don’t just usually call just to say hi to someone anymore, it’s sort of strange. And considering we’re not really friends or anything-”

 

Steve interrupted Tony. “We’re not friends?”

 

There was a chuckle. “Considering we were on the verge of ripping each other’s throats out the last time we were together, no. I don’t quite consider that friends, but if you do then you might want to find yourself some new acquaintances.” Tony answered.

 

“But I apologized.” Steve said.

 

He had apologized. Was that not enough? He had taken back what he said to Tony and shook his hand, hadn’t that made them friends? He thought it did, at least a little.

 

“Yea but I didn’t.” Tony said interrupting his train of thought.

 

This was true. Tony hadn’t apologized for being a world class jerk when they had first met. But Steve thought he had meant to, that is was implied with the hand shake and all.

 

“Well are you going to?” Steve asked.

 

“No.” Replied Tony.

 

Now Steve was baffled. Tony didn’t want to apologize?

 

“Well why not?” Steve asked, a little confused.

 

“Hmmm, Let’s see, I guess I just don’t think I was wrong there Steve. I mean you started breathing down my neck the second you saw me. All I was doing was defending myself. Guess I don’t know you well enough to want to apologize. No offense or anything, it’s just I don’t really do ‘apologies’ or any emotional stuff for that matter.”

 

“I understand,” Steve replied. Although he didn’t really see why anyone would have such a hard time apologizing, he could look past it. “So what if we got to know each other more.”

 

There was a pause. “So I just told you that one: were not really compatible because when I’m around you I feel like strangling small children, and Two: I’m not at all sorry for being a jerk to you, and you still want to try to become friends?”

 

“Yup.” Steve answered.

 

“Swing by my house at two.” Tony said and then the line went dead.


End file.
